Runaway
by loueylouey14
Summary: Beth pulls what Sarah calls 'The Puckerman' when she fails her math test. Puckerman family. AU Puck/OC Oneshot based off of previous stories BOL and NFP, but don't need to read those first.


**_Runaway_**

**A one-shot with the Puckerman family in the future of the Beginning Our Life/Never Forgotten Past universes.**

**Ages: Beth-12 / Nathan-10 / Rose-5**

~~~~~GLEE~~~~~

Sarah rubbed her stomach where the twins were kicking as she opened the fridge to get Rose a glass of water. Her poor baby girl was sick with the flu and was staying home from school all week.

Before she could go back upstairs, the door opened. Sarah jumped and hid on the stairs. Noah wasn't supposed to be home for another half hour with Nate meaning someone was in her house that she wasn't expecting.

"Mom? Are you home?"

Sarah's heartbeat slowed and she stepped down, "Beth, what are you doing here? Don't you have volleyball?"

The seventh grader closed the door and placed her backpack on her hook, "It got canceled."

"Ok," Sarah nodded, "You're also supposed to be at Quinn's house this month though, so how did you get here?"

"I took the bus and she knows I'm here," Beth sighed, "Can I have a snack?"

"I'm sorry," Sarah led the way to the kitchen, "Of course you can."

"You're supposed to be the cool mom," Beth teased with a smirk while taking her seat at the counter.

"I know," Sarah laughed, "What's happening to me?"

"Don't worry, you're cool even with all the questions," Beth replied.

"Mommy!" Rose screamed from upstairs.

"Oh, I have to go," Sarah quickly placed an apple and a knife in front of Beth before hurrying back upstairs to her room with a sippy cup of water.

Beth stared at the apple before hopping down from the stool and going to grab an orange from the fridge. She ran over to her backpack and pulled out the pink folder then went up to her room.

Sarah heard Beth's door slam shut, but ignored it as Rose cried into her shirt, "Shh, it's ok, Mommy's here."

Rose gasped for breath, "It hurts."

"I know," Sarah whispered, "So I want you to drink this water and then sleep, ok?" She helped Rose sit up and passed her the sippy cup, "There you go, good girl."

Rose finished the drink and wiped the tears from her eyes, "Can I sleep on Daddy's pillow?"

Sarah smiled, "Of course. He won't care."

Rose slipped under the covers and settled against Noah's pillows. She laughed when she felt a shirt and pants near her head.

Sarah took them with a laugh, "Those are Daddy's pajamas," she set them on the ground. She kissed Rose's fevered head, "Goodnight, Cupcake."

Rose closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around a large pillow before quickly falling asleep.

Sarah sighed with a smile and laid back on the bed to watch her. Today was only the second day of Rose having the flu and it was already much worse than the day before.

Minutes later, the front door opened and Noah walked through with Nate in tow. Nate ran around the kitchen to find a snack while Noah went upstairs to see his little girl. He stepped in his bedroom and smiled at Sarah.

"Hey," he whispered while crossing the room.

"Hey," she whispered back after kissing him softly.

"How's the patient?" Noah asked as he walked around the bed.

"Not good," Sarah sighed, "She's been crying a lot, but that just makes it worse."

Noah nodded and kissed Rose's head, "Now go, I'll take this shift."

Sarah sat up, "Noah, I'm fine."

"No," he looked at her, "I don't want you to get sick."

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah asked, "I'm the only one with a flu shot in this house, well, actually I think Beth has one."

"Beth's at volleyball, so she doesn't count," Noah said as he smoothed Rose's hair back from her sweaty forehead.

"No, she's here," Sarah stated, "She said volleyball was canceled today, but Quinn knows."

Noah hopped up from the bed with a shake of his head, "Something's not right." He went across the hall and knocked on the door, "Hey, monkey face, open up."

Beth opened the door and hugged her dad tightly, "I love you."

Noah froze, but said, "I love you too." He led Beth back into her room and onto her bed. He shut the door before turning to her, "What's going on?"

Beth couldn't stop the blush on her cheeks, she knew that he knew she was lying. "Volleyball got canceled," she squeaked.

"Uh-huh," Noah sat at her desk, "And why are you here?"

"Mom's working," Beth answered too quickly.

"Beth Joyce Puckerman, do not lie to me," Noah stated while going to kneel in front of Beth, "What's going on?"

Beth blinked back tears, "I'm sorry, Dad."

Noah jumped up and pulled her in his arms, "No, come on, it's ok. I just need you to tell me why you skipped volleyball. Are some kids bullying you? Are you...is your...do I need to get Sarah?"

After a second of thinking, Beth said, "I just wanted to come see you. Please don't tell Mom."

Noah sighed, "Beth."

"Please, Daddy," Beth begged.

Noah set his chin on her blonde curls, "You know I can't say no to that."

Beth smiled, "Thank you."

"I'll drive you home in an hour so you'll get home before your mom," Noah said softly.

"I can walk," Beth shook her head.

"Fine," Noah sighed. He looked towards her desk where a paper was lying underneath a red marker and some whiteout, "What are you doing?"

Beth shot up and ran to her desk to cover it, "Nothing."

"Really?" Noah smirked, "Because it looks like you're trying to change your grade on something." He stood and was about to walk over when Beth put her arms out.

"No!" she stated, "Dad, this is for health. You know, like about the reproduction system."

Noah completely stopped, "Oh, ok. Alright, um, that's cool." He turned to leave, "I'll be across the hall with Rose and Sarah'll be downstairs if you need...help. Ok, bye."

Beth sighed as her dad left and closed the door, that was close.

~~~~~GLEE~~~~~

"Dad, someone's in my treehouse," Nate called from the couch.

Noah walked in the living room, "What are you talking about?"

Nate pointed out the window to the tree in the back corner of their yard. Up in the small fort, a soft glow was being emitted and the top of a hood was visible. "Look," he said.

"Stay here and don't tell your mom," Noah said quickly. He hurried to put his shoes on quietly went out in the snow. He grabbed Nate's baseball bat last second and went over to the treehouse, "Hey! Get out of there!"

The person inside jumped and cowered behind the wall.

"I'm being serious!" Noah yelled, "I need you to get out of my kids' treehouse so I can kick your ass!"

The person squeaked and rolled over to stick their head out the small window, "Dad, it's me."

Noah lowered the bat, "Beth?"

"Yeah," she stood up.

Noah dropped his 'weapon' and put his arms out, "Down. Now."

Beth slid down the slide, but continued sitting, "Hey, Dad."

Noah crossed his arms, "What the hell?"

Beth stood and tried jumping to get her backpack as she ignored her dad.

Noah grabbed the backpack and held it above her head, "It is 7:30 at night and like 20 degrees with snow on the ground, what do you think you're doing?"

Beth took off towards the gate, but Noah was faster and caught her. Beth screamed, "Please, Daddy!"

Noah carried her inside, "No, I'm not falling for it again."

Nate shot up, "Is that the robber?" He grabbed a pillow, "Let me take a couple swings!"

"No!" Beth screamed.

"Nate, go upstairs," Noah set Beth on the couch, "And tell Mom to come down here."

"Dad, please don't be mad," Beth begged.

"You camped out in my treehouse in the middle of winter! You could have gotten hurt or sick!" Noah yelled, "I already have one sick kid, I don't need another."

Sarah came down, "Noah! Quinn called, Beth's gone." She noticed said girl, "What's going on?"

"Found her," Noah bitterly said, "Beth went camping."

Beth started crying, "I'm sorry."

"Does this have to do with earlier?" Sarah asked, "Was volleyball really canceled?"

"No," Beth cried, "I didn't want to go home. I'm sorry."

"Why?" Noah continued standing.

"I-I failed and Mom's going to hate me," Beth sobbed.

Sarah sat and smoothed down Beth's hair, "Alright, start from the beginning. What happened?"

"I failed my math test," Beth gasped, "The one that Mom made me study for, but it was too hard and I only got six right."

"Out of how many?" Sarah asked seeing as Noah still looked pretty mad.

"20," Beth hid her face in her hands, "Mom's going to hate me. I can't go home. Can't I just live here forever?" She looked up at Noah who was pacing the room, "And now Dad hates me."

Noah stopped and came to kneel in front of her, "I don't hate you. I'm disappointed in you and not because you failed, but because you lied and you ran away. Do you realize how dangerous this was? You could have froze to death out there. What about your mom? She's probably running around Lima looking for you."

Sarah pushed off the couch, "I'm going to call Quinn."

Noah replaced her spot, "I want Beth to tell Quinn where she was."

Beth cried and fell against her dad, "She's going to hate me."

"No, she won't," Noah whispered in her hair.

Sarah came and passed the phone to Beth before sitting in the chair opposite them.

"Mom," Beth breathed, "I'm sorry."

"Beth! Where are you?" Quinn asked.

"I'm at Dad's," Beth answered, "I've been here all day."

"I'm coming to get you," Quinn stated, "Stay."

"I promise," Beth wiped her eyes.

"I love you," Quinn breathed.

"I love you too," Beth leaned into her dad's side before ending the call. She looked towards her parents, "She's coming."

Noah kissed the top of her head before looking at Sarah, "Can you give us a second?"

Sarah smiled and went upstairs to her bedroom.

"I want you to show me that test," Noah said once him and Beth were alone.

Beth shakily reached towards her backpack and pulled out the paper. She placed it on Noah's lap and looked away.

He picked it up and sighed. Beth had managed to change the F to a B. She also whited out many of the wrong answers and wrote in the correct ones. It was a pretty sloppy job and Quinn would have seen right through it.

"It's bad, I know," Beth whimpered.

"I'd offer to teach you how to make it look more realistic, but both your moms would kill me," Noah said softly.

Beth laughed, "Did you used to do it?"

"When I was about your age, I did it a lot," Noah hugged Beth to his side, "But then your mom came along and changed me."

"Which one?" Beth asked.

Noah smiled, "Both of them."

They sat in silence until the sound of a car in the driveway broke them away. Sarah came down the steps to see Quinn. There was a knock on the door and Sarah went to answer it.

Quinn ran inside the home, straight to her daughter whom she wrapped in a hug, "Never do that again, you hear me?"

Beth nodded her head, "Yes, I'm sorry."

"Now, why?" Quinn pulled back to ask, "Why would you run away? Why wouldn't you come home?"

"I was scared," Beth whispered, "I didn't want you to hate me."

Quinn was about to ask why when she noticed the test on Noah's thigh. She grabbed it and looked it over. Automatically, she caught onto what Beth was attempting and understood.

"Beth," she said slowly, "No matter how bad you mess up, I will never hate you."

Noah wrapped an arm around Beth's shoulders, "I second that."

Sarah smiled, "Me too. We'll always love you, Beth; never forget that."

"But," Quinn made sure Beth's eyes were locked on her, "That doesn't mean we're not going to ground you."

"I know," Beth nodded with a sigh.

"That was a really stupid thing for you to do," Noah added. He took Beth's frozen hands in his and started rubbing warmth in them, "No phone. One week."

"No friends. Two weeks," Sarah said while taking a seat on Beth's other side and draping a blanket around her shoulders.

"And during that time, you will practice your math and work harder for a better grade," Quinn finished.

Beth groaned, "Mom, I really did work hard. And Dad! My phone."

"No," Noah stated, "You ran away and you got a 30 percent on a math test. That deserves punishment."

Beth reluctantly nodded, "Ok, fine."

Quinn stood and held her hand out, "Come on, I want you to get home and warm up before we talk about this more."

Before Beth could stand, Noah hugged her closer to him and breathed in her hair, "I love you. Don't scare me like that again, monkey face."

Beth smiled in his shoulder, "I love you too."

Sarah kissed Beth's head before the youngest could stand, "I'll see you next week, B."

Beth gave one last smile and wave before walking out the door.

Quinn did the same and mouthed, 'Thank you,' as she left.

Sarah scooted over and curled into Noah's side with a sigh, "She's your daughter."

Noah chuckled, "Of course, she's mine when she does something wrong."

"That's not what I meant," Sarah laughed, "I seem to remember you running away as well when you failed a certain test. I'd call it a Puckerman move. But I hope Nate never does it."

Noah hid his face in Sarah's hair while smirking, "Shut up."

There was the soft sound of feet on the stairs and Rose stepped down, "Mommy, Daddy, can I go to sleep now?"

Noah turned around with a smile, "Haven't you slept enough today?"

Rose stomped her foot, "Please, Daddy."

He jumped up and ran to scoop her in his arms, "I'm just teasing, of course you can go to bed, Cupcake."

Sarah followed them up the stairs with a smile, listening to Rose's soft, gasping laughs at Noah's whispered words. Before she walked into the pink room with them, she looked in Nate's room to see him fast asleep clutching one of his small golf clubs to ward off any robbers. She crossed the hall with a smile to gently tug the metal from his grip. Her kids (biological or not) weren't perfect, but she wouldn't change a thing.


End file.
